Toronto Globe and Mail, May 26, 1999: Difference between revisions
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<center><h3> Costello proves his aim's still true </h3></center> | <center><h3> Costello proves his aim's still true </h3></center> | ||
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<center> Chris Dafoe </center> | <center> Chris Dafoe </center> | ||
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'''Engaging British Columbia gig kicks off concert tour | |||
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Vancouver — Back in 1977, Elvis Costello appeared with his band the Attractions on ''Saturday Night Live''. The band started to play "Less Than Zero," a track from Costello's debut album, but stopped a few seconds in and kicked into "Radio Radio," a searing attack on the media in general and pop radio in particular. It was an unforgettable performance, but by Monday morning, people in the music industry were writing Costello's obituary. He had, after all, insulted every radio programmer in the United States and alienated the very medium that drives the American music industry. He might as well pack up and go home, career in tatters. | Vancouver — Back in 1977, Elvis Costello appeared with his band the Attractions on ''Saturday Night Live''. The band started to play "Less Than Zero," a track from Costello's debut album, but stopped a few seconds in and kicked into "Radio, Radio," a searing attack on the media in general and pop radio in particular. It was an unforgettable performance, but by Monday morning, people in the music industry were writing Costello's obituary. He had, after all, insulted every radio programmer in the United States and alienated the very medium that drives the American music industry. He might as well pack up and go home, career in tatters. | ||
Nearly 22 years later, those tatters have added up to an impressive pile. Radio, of course, never did warm to Costello, although he has racked up a few minor hits over the years, almost never with his best songs. He has, however, remained a critical darling — not, as David Lee Roth once suggested, because he looks like most rock critics, but because he's a brilliant songwriter and regularly displays a breadth of musical knowledge and insight that puts most critics to shame. That same quality has made him an ideal partner for a wide range of musicians; the once-angry young man has turned into the congenial collaborator who works with everyone from Paul McCartney to The Brodsky Quartet, from Anne Sofie von Otter to Burt Bacharach. | Nearly 22 years later, those tatters have added up to an impressive pile. Radio, of course, never did warm to Costello, although he has racked up a few minor hits over the years, almost never with his best songs. He has, however, remained a critical darling — not, as David Lee Roth once suggested, because he looks like most rock critics, but because he's a brilliant songwriter and regularly displays a breadth of musical knowledge and insight that puts most critics to shame. That same quality has made him an ideal partner for a wide range of musicians; the once-angry young man has turned into the congenial collaborator who works with everyone from Paul McCartney to The Brodsky Quartet, from Anne Sofie von Otter to Burt Bacharach. | ||
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It was the songs from ''Painted from Memory'', however, that showed this lineup to its best advantage. Nieve, whose keyboard work in the Attractions offers wry commentary on Costello's songs, played it straight on the Bacharach tunes, parking himself behind the grand piano and sticking to the master's arrangements. Costello, meanwhile, stretched his voice in ways that no one would have imagined 20 years ago. It's still not the sweetest or most expansive voice in the world, but Costello makes the most of it, displaying remarkable control as he rises from a whisper to a scream on songs such as "God Give Me Strength," "What's Her Name Today?" and "This House is Empty Now." | It was the songs from ''Painted from Memory'', however, that showed this lineup to its best advantage. Nieve, whose keyboard work in the Attractions offers wry commentary on Costello's songs, played it straight on the Bacharach tunes, parking himself behind the grand piano and sticking to the master's arrangements. Costello, meanwhile, stretched his voice in ways that no one would have imagined 20 years ago. It's still not the sweetest or most expansive voice in the world, but Costello makes the most of it, displaying remarkable control as he rises from a whisper to a scream on songs such as "God Give Me Strength," "What's Her Name Today?" and "This House is Empty Now." | ||
And if there was any doubt about the power of that voice, Costello dispelled it at the end of the evening. After being called back for encore after encore, after delivering hits such as "Everyday I Write the Book" and obscurities like "Inch By Inch," Costello held up an index finger, wondering if the crowd wanted one more song. When the cheers echoed back in the affirmative, Costello told the soundman to turn off the microphones. With Nieve playing unamplified piano, Costello stood on the edge of the stage and sang "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4." It wasn't on any fan's list of must-hear songs, but the musical melodrama, originally included in 1991's ''Mighty Like a Rose'', turned the 2,800-seat theatre into an old-fashioned music hall. Perhaps it wasn't as startling as that long-ago version of "Radio Radio," but in its own way, it was just as magical. | And if there was any doubt about the power of that voice, Costello dispelled it at the end of the evening. After being called back for encore after encore, after delivering hits such as "Everyday I Write the Book" and obscurities like "Inch By Inch," Costello held up an index finger, wondering if the crowd wanted one more song. When the cheers echoed back in the affirmative, Costello told the soundman to turn off the microphones. With Nieve playing unamplified piano, Costello stood on the edge of the stage and sang "Couldn't Call It Unexpected No. 4." It wasn't on any fan's list of must-hear songs, but the musical melodrama, originally included in 1991's ''Mighty Like a Rose'', turned the 2,800-seat theatre into an old-fashioned music hall. Perhaps it wasn't as startling as that long-ago version of "Radio, Radio," but in its own way, it was just as magical. | ||
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{{Bibliography next | |||
|prev = Toronto Globe and Mail, October 15, 1998 | |||
|next = Toronto Globe and Mail, June 17, 1999 | |||
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'''The Globe and Mail, May 26, 1999 | '''The Globe and Mail, May 26, 1999 | ||
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Latest revision as of 11:52, 23 December 2021
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